Three years for child pornography

A 50-year-old man who worked as a facilities manager at the Cork School of Music has been sentenced to three years in jail, with two years suspended, for distributing child pornography.

Eamon Comerford was working for construction firm Hochtief as its facilities manager at the Cork School of Music when he was found to be in possession of child pornography.

Yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, Comerford pleaded guilty to one count of distributing child pornography between January 1st, 2005 and April 15th, 2010.

Comerford, of Altamont Lodge, Dublin Road, Kilkenny, also pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing child pornography at locations in Cork city on April 14th and April 15th 2010.

Det Garda Pat Prendergast told the court the offences came to light after Comerford lent a USB memory stick to a colleague who, when she opened it, found child pornography. Gardaí then seized his computer equipment.

Judge Seán O Donnabhain said he recognised that Comerford had made serious efforts to rehabilitate himself by going for counselling once he was caught and that was to his credit.